The Georgia Republican Party passed a resolution this weekend opposing casino gambling. In announcing its resolution, Georgia GOP (GAGOP) said that casino gambling leads to higher crime rates and higher divorce rates.
The GAGOP resolution was a response to several bills over the past couple of years, which were introduced several different Georgia Republicans.
The resolution called for GOP lawmakers to “cease and desist with any efforts to open the state of Georgia to casino and horse racing gambling.”
Georgia Republican Party Opposes Destination Resorts
The Georgia Republican Convention’s opposition signals difficulty for Las Vegas casino operators who want to legalize brick-and-mortar casinos in Georgia. Over the past couple of years, Georgia media sources reported that Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands and Jim Murren of MGM Resorts traveled to Atlanta, Savannah, and Athens to find the best locations for destination resorts.
In a state dominated by the Republican Party, though, GAGOP’s opposition could be pivotal. While individual GOP lawmakers vote their conscience on social issues like gambling legislation, the state party has tremendous influence.
Brandon Beach’s Casino Bill
Alpharetta State Sen. Brandon Beach is an example of a Republican lawmaker who plans to oppose the state GOP’s resolution. Senator Beach supports destination resorts. In fact, he introduced a bill to the Georgia State Legislature this year which calls for a statewide referendum on Georgia casino-resorts.
Senator Beach says, whether political leaders agree with land-based gambling or not, they owe it to the people of Georgia to let them decide.
When asked by WSB-TV Channel 2 in Atlanta of the GAGOP’s opposition, Beach said, “First…I have the utmost respect for the Republican Party and the state committee. There’s nothing more conservative or more Republican than letting the voters have a say at the ballot box and vote on an issue.”
Bill Calls for 2 Destination Resorts, 20% Tax Rate
Brandon Beach said he supports the licensing of 2 major destination resorts, which would offer casino gambling. He expects a minimum of $2 billion in private investments for those resorts, which would create thousands of construction jobs. Once built, thousands more permanent casino staff jobs would be created.
Beach’s bill calls for a 20% tax rate on all gambling in the two casinos. Tax revenues generated by the resorts would be earmarked for rural health care and the HOPE scholarship. The HOPE scholarship fund, which provides financial assistant to students at public and private colleges, is an important part of any legislation in Georgia. It was founded by Zell Miller in 1993 and is supported by funds from the Georgia State Lottery.
What Georgia Voters Think of Casinos
Channel 2 Atlanta sent a reporter to speak to the man-on-the-street and found Bud Griffy, who described himself as a proud Republican. Griffy, who tends to support conservative measure, said land-based casinos are not a problem for him.
Mr. Griffy said, “I think it’s fine. I don’t see anything wrong with it. It brings in money to the state or the area and so forth, and you like a little entertainment every once in a while, so why not?”
The Georgia Republican Convention noted a list of reasons they believe destination resorts are bad for Georgians. GAGOP listed a variety of drawbacks to the plan, including higher taxes to pay for problem gambling counseling. The convention also noted divorce rates are higher near casinos, though they did not cite specific research that supported that claim.
GAGOP also said gambling leads to a higher crime rate near the casino. While crimes committed on casino grounds get more media attention, the gambling industry disputes the claim that destination resorts lead to higher crime.
MGC Public Safety Impact Report
So do state regulators. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) released a “Public Safety Impact Report” in December 2016. The report was a study of the crime rate at the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, Massachusetts. That study showed no increase in crime rates after the racino’s grand opening.
MGC consultant Christopher Bruce, who conducted the research, said there was “no significant casual relationship” between casinos and law breaking. Mr. Bruce said, “In the first year of operation at Plainridge Park Casino, analysis indicates that most changes in public safety data are proportional with non-gambling facilities of similar size.”
“I hope this public safety analysis continues to provide important information that local police departments will deem helpful and can utilize to assist with the development of effective data-driven strategies.”
Data from the Casino-Crime Impact Report
Crime and emergency call rates remained the same, both before and after the Plainridge facility’s opening. The overall crime rate was down in the nearby communities. Police recorded a slight uptick in 911 calls, but those were traffic calls, having to do with collisions, stalled cars, and suspicious vehicles being reported.
Thus, destination resorts might lead to more traffic concerns. That is why Wynn Boston Harbor was required to pay nearby communities fees to help them account for road repairs and increased patrols nearby. The same happened with the recently-approved East Windsor casino in Connecticut, where the Mohegan Sun-Foxwoods partnership was required to pay “distressed cities” nearby for traffic costs.
Impact of Casinos on Crime
Finally, Christopher Bruce reported a higher incidence of credit card crimes. Bruce could find no correlation between higher credit card fraud and the appearance of the Plainridge slots parlor, though.
In return, Plainridge’s casino gaming boosted revenues for the facility and the state. Obviously, the facility’s appearance created hundreds of new jobs. According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the creation of a new facility had an overall positive impact — and no discernible impact on crime.
